I would do it all again: Ponting

Ricky Ponting arrived in Australia last night claiming he had no regrets over the controversial fourth Test.

He vowed he would remain a ruthless captain determined to play aggressive, positive cricket.

The Australia skipper denied he had resorted to "negative tactics" in order to restore the over rate during a critical period of the fourth day of the Test match in Nagpur, but said he was not aware how far behind he was until the side emerged from the tea break.

Ponting has come under heavy fire from critics for being more concerned about saving himself from suspension for the slow over rate than winning back the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

But asked if he had reconsidered his tactics on the flight home, Ponting said he still believed he had no other option than the one taken and that he had warned the side on many occasions that just such a situation might arise.

"Over rates have been an issue for our team for a long time and I've made it pretty clear to everybody that at some stage somewhere I've always felt it's going to come back to bite us," Ponting said. "With this actual incident it snuck up on me without me knowing much about it. An hour before the tea break we were only six overs down.

"Six overs down in a Test match is manageable, understanding that at some stage later in that afternoon we were going to have to bowl spin for a long period of time.

"The fast bowlers bowling the way they were going into the tea break meant that when I went back on to the field after tea the umpires alerted me to the fact that I was nine overs down and that obviously becomes a big problem then. It snuck up on me without me being aware of it."

Ponting asked the umpires to keep him updated every 15 minutes after the tea break about the over rate. He said he and the team had learned a lesson from the incident.

Ponting also denied that Australia had lost its crown as the best team in the world, despite losing the series to a rising Indian side.

"Becoming the number one team in the world doesn't happen overnight," he said. "We built up a reputation and a style of play and had a number of series wins around the world that have given us that mantle.

"I think it would be a bit harsh or rich after one series loss to be not considered the number one side in the world."

The captain admitted he was "flabbergasted" that Indian crowds had shunned the games and joked that maybe it was because of the 8:1 fields used by the home side at times during the fourth Test.

Ponting said that he was not sure if it was the advent of Twenty20, new stadiums built too far from towns, ticket prices or just the heat that kept crowds away, but claimed that captains have to be aware of playing attractive cricket.

Ponting vowed that Australia would continue to be a positive and aggressive side and he would not change his approach to leadership.

"I will continue to be a ruthless captain and a ruthless player and I would expect that my team-mates would be in the same boat," he said.

"And if they are not now, after having lost a Test series in India 2-0 then we'll have to look around for some other guys, but I am confident that we can hit the ground running in Brisbane (against New Zealand) and play some of the best Test cricket that we've seen for a while."

Before the Australians flew in last night, several of Ponting's former team-mates came out in defence of him.

Justin Langer and Adam Gilchrist supported their former captain, claiming he would never put himself before his country.

Even New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori gave Ponting a ringing character endorsement on the eve of the Kiwis' two-Test series against Australia.

"Ricky's heart, life and soul is in the captaincy of the Australian cricket team," Gilchrist said.

The wicketkeeper-batsman said others would also be involved in the decision to rush the overs at the critical point in the match.

"There's a coach (Tim Nielsen) and a vice-captain (Michael Clarke), Matty Hayden is an integral part of that team, and they would have all sat and discussed it," Gilchrist said.

"Ultimately it all comes down to Ricky."

However, Gilchrist would not say if he thought that it was an error not to use the front-line attack after tea in the rush to make up overs.

Langer, who has just arrived back from the Hong Kong Sixes tournament, passionately defended his former skipper. "Ricky Ponting is one of the most selfless people and captains I have ever played with," Langer said.